Angels Need Angels
by uftopia
Summary: -In desperate times. Max suffers after that one Vortex Club party and doesn't know what happened. She gets closer to her friends... and even closer with Warren. (yes, grahamfield) (this story will be long, with a few thousand words per chap. most likely 2000)


Chapter 1

Max had always seemed pretty down, lately. It was unusual for her to feel such a way, but ever since that one Vortex Club party she had attended, she never felt herself anymore. She was always holding her head low, and she didn't speak much. When she suspected of being called on in class, she'd use the bathroom excuse. It would generate a few giggles, glares, and remarks she wishes she could forget about. But she has to clear her head of violent thoughts often, so she has to go.

"-you okay?" Kate's voice enters her head, and she's glad it did. Her thoughts were becoming too much.

"I, uh, yeah. I'm okay,"

"Really? It sounds… like you've had trouble sleeping. You sure?" Kate smiles, but it's not one that shows she's happy. It's tight and forced at the corners, and Max is sure it's supposed to make _her_ feel better. She sees through the fake smile and replies.

"Yes. I'm okay. Just, thinking too much." Kate doesn't say more, but her green eyes are pleading with more for an answer. Max's hands are sweating, and the pencil in Her hand is slipping. She's losing grasp of it like she is with reality. She doesn't exactly know what to think anymore, or what could be real and what's not.

"Yes," She wants to say more, but the words are hard to find.

"I'm _okay."_ She forces the word 'okay' more than she wanted, but she looks back up to Kate and the fake smile that was once there before is dying down, and Max has to admit, that smile did make her feel better. She starts to regret her wording but is glad that the 'are you okay?' talk is over. It happens at least three times a day.

"Would you at least join me for tea during lunch? I'm sure Alice would love to see you again. And I miss our talks." It's true, she hasn't been talking to anyone lately. It's a little scary how easily Max can shut herself and everyone else out.

Kate doesn't prod, she just waits for an answer from Max.

"...Sure. I miss you too, Kate." This time, the smile she gets in reply is real, at least real enough for Max. It's one of the only real smiles she's seen in Blackwell. After her video and those pictures of her going unfortunately viral, every single mouth is curved and lined with hate and mockery.

Max gets up after packing her things, not bothering to look back to kate. Her notebook is filled with crude and certainly _interesting_ drawings, as her inner thought says. Nooses, knives, and drawn blood are taking up space in the margins. Tears wrinkle and stain nearly each and every page used, about halfway into the book. Kate notices this, but never says anything about it. The last thing she picks up is the clear and thin blue pen she usually uses to draw those sketches.

' _She doesn't care about you.'_

She stops walking, stops clicking her pen that she's holding.

" _No, that's not true. Kate cares. I know_ — _"_

' _She doesn't, is it that hard to see?'_

" _I… stop it. I'm not doing this again."_

She fights her thoughts away, for the millionth time today. And every time, she loses a bit of herself. She picks up her pace as she heads for the door, and she hears Kate call her name. Victoria's voice also fills her senses, with Courtney and Taylor laughing and repeating what their queen bee says. Max ignores her, too.

Exiting the photography classroom, the voice is still speaking to her and it won't stop.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it." She mutters under her breath and into her old and grey hoodie she's had for too long. Tears and hiccups stifle in Max's throat, and she speedwalks faster than before.

She repeatedly hits the sides of her head whispering the same two words in desperation that it'll stop. A sudden hand, though, takes her own. It stops her from bashing her head in.

"Max,"

"Kate…?"

"You may not be fine now, but," She stops, looking for the right words to use on her. Even Kate treats Max like a delicate and fragile piece of glass that would break if as much as a leaf fell upon it. "I'll help you. Even angels need angels, Max." She nearly tears up at Kate's words, and she has a feeling that things might go okay today.

For the past hour, Max has been just sitting and listening to whatever anyone has to say to her. Even the rude comments made about her, and her looks.

"Max!" She sits up nearly as fast as the speed of light, which gathers a few stares her way. She flushes and tries to hide her embarrassed face from those around her.

"You've been distracted all science class, what's up?" Warren asks.

"I, I don't know. I've been like this all day,"

"Is the work just hard?" More interrogation, she thinks to herself. Every friend she's encountered has asked the same questions. _"Are you okay?" "What's wrong?" "Do you need help?"_ But at least they're trying to do something, rather than bring her down another few pegs.

"No, I'm good." His eyebrows furrowed together, and he tries again.

"I—" however, just as class ends, he's cut off by someone's presence that can startle anyone, teachers, students, and even people who don't know him yet. He has an aura that follows him everywhere, and it's not a good one. It's one that's filled with dread. Everyone hates it. Not like he cares, though. It just shows how much power he has over everyone else, it helps him show dominance.

"Nathan…" Nathan has a smirk that plays at his features, his eyes are squinting and the blue that lingers inside each eye pierces her own.

"The Selfie Whore, huh?" Max doesn't say anything, she's terrified of what might happen if she does.

"Whore's just fine, Nathan." Turns out, Victoria decided to join the little show Nathan's putting on. She showed up right behind him, popping up like one of his minions.

"Right, of course."

Victoria snickers. "What a ho,"

Tears were prickling Max's eyes and she closed them tight. She didn't want to see how much of an impact Victoria and Nathan were making on her.

"Oh, looky here… are you crying? Need your pathetic nerd friends to deal with your sad ass?" Nathan's voice comes in almost right after Victoria's.

"No, no, please—"

"Please what?" Both their eyes now are glaring back with sharp smiles. Max is still fighting back her tears which are stinging the sides of her ocean eyes, that are now several shades darker than before the Vortex Club party. They once were shown with brightness and cheer, and she smiled at nearly everything.

Now her smiles were hard and forced, not natural at all. It was hard to smile at most things for Max. Her laughs were the same with each curved line that came with it.

This Max is not the same Max as before, and Warren could tell. This is why when he saw the tears in Max's eyes threatening to stream down her cheeks, he decided to step up.

"Why don't you back away, Nathan?" Now he averted his eyes from Max, up to Warren.

"Oh yeah, how're you gonna stop me?"

"What is it, Gayram?"

They both stood for what felt like an eternity to Max, she just wanted to leave. But it was sweet of Warren to stand up for her, she thought.

"Warren, just—" She tried to talk him out of it. This Max that Warren was seeing, isn't the Max that he's known since day one. It's depressing, how fast someone can be brought down.

He has to admit, with a heavy heart, that he's seen the pictures and video that brought Max down. She was pushed down to the floor, alcohol and other drugs were being pushed into her mouth forcefully. Clothes were being pulled, and when she was high enough, people got her to kiss a plentiful of people.

The tears in Max's eyes were enough to get Warren to be pushed off the edge.

"Leave her alone."

"Make me, why don't ya?"

Warren didn't know what had happened, but all of a sudden there was white, then reds splattered across his vision. His fists hurt, and were bruised with purples and blues. Blood covered his knuckles, it was warm and it was _everywhere_. He was filled with adrenaline and for Warren, there was not turning back now.

"Warren!" Max yelled to him. He completely ignored her request, though. Fists were still getting thrown to Nathan's face.  
"Warren, stop!" She was crying his name, begging and asking for him to stop.

The teacher too, had trouble breaking up the teens, and was quite shocked that Warren could manage to fight and mess up someone's face so badly like he had with Nathan. There were bruises and cuts along his cheeks and on his nose. His eyes were nearly swollen, and red.

"Mr Graham, I don't suppose you know why you're here today?" Principle Wells turned around, after looking out of his office window. He placed his hands on his desk to sit, then folded them. He stares right to Warren, expecting an answer.

"I do, sir." was all he got.

He squints, "Then why?"

"I… I beat up Nathan Prescott, and sent him to the nurse. But it was for a good reason! He was bullying my fr-friend, Max, who's gone through so much and doesn't need anymore s-shit!" They both wince at the curse, realizing it had been said.

"Language, Mr Graham. And I am aware of these pictures and this video, but violence wasn't the answer. It still isn't," He unfolds his hands and stands up. "I am sorry, but because of your volent act, I have to suspend you for two weeks. I have thought about expelling you, but you are a promising student and certainly going somewhere. But for now-" He is interrupted by Warren, who now is standing and flailing his hands in every space around him. He nearly hits David Madsen, who he only now realizes was in the room.

"But I-I swear it won't happen again! And maybe they'll stop! Maybe they'll stop bullying Max…"

Wells squints again, and puts his right hand on Warren's shoulder, but keeping his left behind his back. "This concludes our meeting, Mr Graham. Let's hope we don't have one for a while, now."

As Warren left the room, leaving the adults back in the room, he thought to himself, muttering a little bit. "How- but then, then I won't be able to protect Max! I'll send Kate over to her, to make sure…" He drifts off from his thought, getting rid of it with a large sigh.

"I'm sorry, Max."


End file.
